SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014)

[Jox]

Tony Jaa Official
Hi from the editing room of Skin Trade. Things are looking good I think you are going to like this film. TJ

(with DP Ben Nott and editor Victor Du Bois)

Celina Jade
Ben Nott DP of Skin Trade setting up the candid shot for Tony Jaa Official Celina Jade Dolph Lundgren at Siam Kempinski. Photo by the Great Selby!

[Jox]

[Jox]

BTS music video shot with a GoPro by the DP Ben Nott. Not sure it was meant to be public (at least now since it features movie clips)
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=149 ... 734&type=2

[MacGyver]

Any idea when they plan on premiering this? I was wondering if they were going to take it to a festival (Sundance, Toronto, etc.) to try an drum up some buzz.

Also, has a composer been hired?

[bomaz]

Well, I think we'll have to be patient for these festivals.
We should start looking at article about the Cannes Film Market, we might glimpse some early posters there (maybe).

[Jox]

SKIN TRADE at Sundance? Wouldn't bet on it, it doesn't fit their programming, not American enough of a production and too much "genre" and "actionish"... Anyway no distributor is officially attached yet and therefore no date set yet, but it should come out around the spring 2015.

There isn't any early poster. Nowadays those who do have big artwork and flyers in Cannes are rather desperate whereas those who are more confident in their products just have to take meetings in their booth or suite, show the promo reels and negotiate. Plus companies don't spend as much as they used too. Hyde Park the ST sales company just had their line-up on a cardboard in front of their hotel suite (but I could hear the ST promo playing from outside) and I know of a distributor in talks to take it without having even seen the promo. That's what they call a "hot title"...

[Jox]

Hyde Park the ST sales company just had their line-up on a cardboard in front of their hotel suite (but I could hear the ST promo playing from outside)

I cannot take good photos with an iphone

[Jox]

Picked up by Entertainment One in Australia (probably other territories)
http://if.com.au/2014/05/25/article/Oz- ... UCBGS.html

Entertainment One picked up Juan Antonio Bayona’s A Monster Calls, a fantasy drama about a boy who seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mother's terminal illness, starring Felicity Jones and Liam Neeson; Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees, the story of an American (Matthew McConaughey) and a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) who meet in Japan’s infamous "Suicide Forest"; and Sean Penn’s The Last Face, which will star Charlize Theron and Xavier Bardem as doctors who face tough decisions while humanitarian relief work in Africa.

“We screened quite a few films we had acquired from script, the jewel in the crown being Pride starring Bill Nighy and Dominic West,” says eOne’s Jude Troy. “It was also wonderful to see Zoe Saldana in a tour de force performance in Nina.

“It was a fairly flat market on the home entertainment front; however we did pick up Skin Trade, an action thriller starring Dolph Lundgren.”

[Jox]

Michael Jai White interview
http://filmcombatsyndicate.blogspot.com ... -star.html

FCSyndicate: I've been covering the production of director Ekchai Uekrongtham's new film, Skin Trade intensively this year on my site. How did you first learn of this particular film prior to your participation on it, and what drew you most to this project?
MJW: My manager Craig was one of the producers so I knew about the film from him. Tony Jaa and I are friends, and I really liked the idea of doing a movie together. Of course who could resist being in a movie with Hellboy, Robocop and Drago.

FCSyndicate: Tell us about your stay in Thailand.
MJW: It is a very friendly place. The people are very nice, the atmosphere is relaxed and exotic. I rode elephants, hung out with friends and had fun.

FCSyndicate: What can you tell us about your role in Skin Trade?
MJW: I play an FBI agent, I see a lot of action and I am going to keep you guessing.

FCSyndicate: Tell us about your experience on this film working with such an amazing cast, including star and producer Dolph Lundgren. What were the most fun moments for you? And were there any significant challenges to overcome as well?
MJW: The film went very smoothly. Dolph is very professional and very detail oriented. The cast were really great as was the crew. Overall it was a great experience.

FCSyndicate: Lundgren also went on CNNrecently to delve in a little more on the issue the film aims at, which is human trafficking. Briefly putting action aside, in your opinion, how big is this issue for you in light of this particular film? And do you think there is progress being made in ending this crime for good?
MJW: Frankly its not just human trafficking but all the other crimes against basic human rights and dignity. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I think this movie really brings the issue home. I sure hope so. As for ending this crime for good, I wish but I don’t think its that easy.

[Jox]

Ekachai Uekrongtham deals Skin Trade


By Silvia Wong
Fri, 30 May 2014, 12:00 PM (HKT)


After stepping away from the director's chair for almost five years, Thai director Ekachai UEKRONGTHAM เอกชัย เอื้อครองธรรม | 呂翼謀 is back with his latest feature Skin Trade. The English-language action thriller pairs Hollywood action man Dolph LUNDGREN with Thai martial artist Tony JAA จา พนม ยีรัมย์.

Known for his iconic role in Rocky IV, Lundgren is the project's initiator: starring role aside, he is also producer and co-writer. After seeing the Uekrongtham-directed Beautiful Boxer บิวตี้ฟูล บ๊อกเซอร์ (2003), he got in touch through a mutual contact in Los Angeles.

In mid-2013, Uekrongtham flew to Los Angeles to meet Lundgren for the first time and was surprised to find that the action star was eloquent in person and gifted as a scriptwriter.

While Uekrongtham has previously turned down scripts offered to him for international markets, he found Skin Trade riveting. "It has the potential to work as a character-driven piece while saying something about how we deal with scars, literal and otherwise," he said.

For the other lead role, Lundgren and producers Craig Baumgarten and Michael Selby already had in mind Jaa who is now represented by Bangkok-based Selby. The finance was already in place with a production budget of around US$10 million through SC Films Thailand (unrelated to the UK company SC Films International).

As much as 95% of the production was shot in Thailand with the remainder in Vancouver. Filming locations in Bangkok and several Thai provinces include Suvarnabhumi Airport, Minburi District (one of Bangkok's oldest districts), Siam Kempinski Hotel, a rice mill, a leather bleaching factory, a century-old mansion and Muang Thong Thani town.

"We shot mostly on locations, but also built a number of big set pieces at Baanrig Studios, especially for scenes that we need to blow things up," said Uekrongtham.

The majority of the key crew members were Thai such as leading production designer Ek IEMCHUEN เอก เอี่ยมชื่น (The Tin Mine มหา'ลัย เหมืองแร่ (2005), Ong Bak 2 องค์บาก ２ (2008), Queens of Langkasuka ปืนใหญ่จอมสลัด (2008)) as well as its art director, costume designer, production manager, location manager and casting director.



In his first English-language role, Jaa stars as a Thai detective who helps a New York counterpart, played by Lundgren, eradicate a global human trafficking operation. Jaa is best known internationally for his fighting roles in the Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong series.

"Jaa is extremely focused as an actor and is very disciplined. He's always inquisitive and is a great collaborator. He doesn't take his role lightly and sees it as an opportunity to extend his range which I think he's done very well. In between takes, he always makes me laugh with his hilarious antics," said Uekrongtham.

Set amidst the harsh realities of human trafficking, Skin Trade bears the framework of a mainstream thriller. "While it is very much plot-driven, the challenge for me is to give it an added character-driven layer with a strong emotional core," he said.

"I see an opportunity to allow characters to express their inner feelings non-verbally while moving the plot forward during action sequences. That's made it more interesting for me as opposed to just seeing people breaking bones, cracking skulls and shooting bodies," he added.

After 50 shooting days, the film is currently at the final stages of editing with a release scheduled for 2015. Hyde Park International handles international sales outside the US.

During his hiatus from films, Uekrongtham spent most of his time on performing arts, the other artistic endeavour he bounces between. He has put together a new live theatre show Muay Thai Live – The Legend Lives which opened in January this year and is still running at the new theatre at Asiatique The Riverfront in Bangkok. Excerpts of the show were performed during the Thai Night party at this month's Cannes Film Festival.

Uekrongtham always makes conscious decisions to embark on something different. His previous films range from the award-winning Beautiful Boxer to Pleasure Factory 快樂工廠 (2007) which premiered at Cannes' Un Certain Regard to horror The Coffin โลงต่อตาย (2008) and romantic comedy The Wedding Game 大囍事 (2009).

Equally diverse are the new projects he has taken to film markets. He plans to revive Chang & Eng on the stage one last time before adapting the critically acclaimed musical about Siamese twins for the big screen. Magical fantasy drama Dessert Queen is being developed into a tent-pole mini-TV series while Bare, about Thailand's first nude photographer, is lined up as his next film.

He also serves as executive advisor to chairman Paiboon DAMRONGCHAITHAM ไพบูลย์ ดำรงชัยธรรม of GMM Grammy PLC Ltd, Thailand's largest entertainment conglomerate.

http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/ekachai-ue ... skin-trade

[Jox]

[dude hallenbeck]

Picked up by Entertainment One in Australia (probably other territories)
http://if.com.au/2014/05/25/article/Oz- ... UCBGS.html

Those malakas are the ones who buried Escape Plan on direct to video here. But one of the guys on The Arnold Fans convinced them to organise some limited screenings all around Australia (He did the same for Sabotage with Open Road Films). I've sent a message to the guy to see if he'd be interested trying with Skin Trade.

[Jox]

Well eOne (which is a group made of several former distributors) has become a big company you have to count on in several territories now (North America, UK, France, Australia, Spain, Benelux)...

[dude hallenbeck]

As long as they're able to get their hands on a reel of film, they're happy to play it if the fan support is there. The guy said he'll ask them.

[Jox]

It may be too early now, until they've seen the finished movie, but get back to them in the fall/winter maybe, or when the first release dates are announced.